widespread use of electronic systems in business and industry has led to the requirement to route large numbers of cables throughout the work environment. Various types of cable tray assemblies are used as a support system for carrying these cables throughout various locations in buildings and other commercial structures.
Attempts to provide additional space to accommodate greater numbers of cables have led to the development of raised floor systems. Raised floor systems make use of the space between the structure's original floor and an upper floor disposed in a spaced manner above the original floor.
Cable tray assemblies are particularly adapted for positioning beneath the floor panels of the raised floor to contain and direct cables along their respective pathways. Cable tray assemblies are generally comprised of a large number of individual cable trays which are typically made of wire lengths welded together in a cage-like arrangement to provide a support surface for the cables.
One problem encountered in these prior art cable support systems is the presence of sharp edges in the cable tray assemblies which are capable of cutting the cable's outer protective sheathing. In addition, increasing the number of cables within the confined space of the raised floor system restricts access to cable pathways which is required for carrying out maintenance and repair functions. The ability to vary the horizontal and vertical positioning of cable pathways in a controlled manner for improving cooling air circulation, optimizing cable pathway spacing and providing additional cable pathways is also limited in existing cable support systems.
The present invention addresses the aforementioned limitations of the prior art by providing for the flexible vertical and lateral positioning of cable pathways in a raised floor system, as well as the elimination of sharp edges in and an increase in the strength of, individual cable trays for accommodating larger numbers of cables.